Cyclone Dana: Normal life hit in Bhubaneswar, trains cancelled, flight ops suspended

BHUBANESWAR: Normal life was affected in Odisha's capital Bhubaneswar on Thursday with many people preferring to stay indoors in view of cyclone Dana that barrels toward the state's coastal region, threatening to impact nearly half of its population.

A low-density vehicular movement was noticed in the state capital, while a few people were spotted in the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bus Terminal in the city, airport and railway station.

A few passengers in the busy Bhubaneswar railway station were spotted as the East Coast Railway (ECoR) cancelled 203 trains. Some tourists were seen taking shelter in the station.

“We have visited Jagannath temple in Puri and are scheduled to return to our home through a train. But, we got a message that our train had been cancelled. So we are taking shelter here,” said a tourist from Maharashtra.

The Bhubaneswar airport authorities decided to suspend flight operations from 5 pm on October 24 to 9 am on October 25 in view of cyclone Dana. During the 16-hour flight suspension, about 40 flights, both domestic and international, will be affected, disrupting travel plans for many passengers, another official said.

The state government closed all educational institutions in Bhubaneswar from October 23 to 25.

Government offices, banks, shops, malls and commercial establishments remained open but there were fewer crowds than normal days.

Even the state-run Capital Hospital in the city witnessed "very minimal footfall" during the day, an official of the health facility said.

"As per the prediction made by the IMD, the cyclone will make landfall during Wednesday midnight. The meteorological department has also predicted strong wind and heavy rainfall in Bhubaneswar, which is not safe for flight operations,” said Prasanna Pradhan, director of Bhubaneswar airport.

According to the forecast made by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the cyclonic storm will make landfall between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district and Dhamra in Bhadrak early on Friday with a wind speed up to 120 kmph.

The weather office also predicted wind speed up to 80 kmph to prevail in Bhubaneswar along with isolated heavy rain on Thursday and Friday.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities also made arrangements to tackle any situation arising out of the cyclone.

The BMC along with the fire-fighting team deployed pumps to suck rainwater from several low-lying vulnerable locations in the city.

In view of the cyclone, the high mast lights at several places across the city have also been lowered, officials said.

“As a precautionary measure, we have opened 85 shelter homes with basic amenities. We hope that people will not face any difficulty,” said BMC mayor Sulochana Das.